You are here

Outdoor Briefs for Saturday, Aug. 16

Starting Monday, anglers fishing in ocean waters off Westport can keep up to two Chinook salmon as part of their two-salmon daily limit.

With that change, anglers will be allowed to keep two Chinook per day in ocean waters off Westport (Marine Area 2), La Push (Marine Area 3) and Neah Bay (Marine Area 4).

Those fishing Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) will continue to be limited to one Chinook as part of their two-salmon daily limit.

All ocean areas are open to salmon fishing seven days per week. Wild coho must be released in all four areas.

Ron Warren, fisheries policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish &Wildlife, said the previous daily limit of one Chinook off Westport was designed to ensure the fishery would remain open the entire season.

Ocean salmon fisheries are scheduled to continue through Sept. 30 in marine areas 1 and 2 and through Sept. 21 in marine areas 3 and 4. However, a portion of Marine Area 3 will reopen Sept. 27 through Oct. 12.

Fish &Wildlife seeks comments on 2015-17 hunting season

The Washington Department of Fish &Wildlife is seeking comments on proposed alternatives for 2015-17 hunting seasons, and has scheduled several meetings this month to discuss the proposals with the public.

The alternatives will be posted by Aug. 18 on Fish &Wildlife’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/seasonsetting/, where people can also provide comments. The Game Management Plan and scoping criteria for the 2015-17 season-setting process is available on the website as well.

Fish &Wildlife is accepting comments on the alternatives through Sept. 20.

The department has also scheduled a series of public meetings in August to discuss the alternatives. The meetings will run from 7-9 p.m. and are scheduled for:

Dave Ware, Fish &Wildlife game program manager, said comments received from the public will be used to develop specific recommendations for 2015-17 hunting seasons, which will be available for further review in January.

Final recommendations will be presented to the Washington Fish &Wildlife Commission for adoption next spring.

The public will have an extra month to comment on proposed changes to state’s Hydraulic Code rules, which regulate construction and other work in or near state waters to protect fish life.

Common projects requiring approval under the state’s hydraulic rules include work on bulkheads, culverts, piers and docks.

The Washington Department of Fish &Wildlife will now accept public comments through Sept. 15 on both the proposed rule changes and on an associated environmental impact statement.

Randi Thurston, Fish &Wildlife program manager, said the department agreed to extend the comment period to give the public more time to review both documents.

All related documents are available on Fish &Wildlife’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/rulemaking/, along with an email address for submitting comments. Written comments also can be addressed to Randi Thurston, WDFW Habitat Program, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

Thurston said the changes proposed by Fish &Wildlife, the first comprehensive update since 1994, are designed to provide more protection for fish, streamline the permit process and ensure the code is consistent with other state laws.

The Washington Fish &Wildlife Commission, a citizen panel appointed by the Governor to set Fish &Wildlife policies, is expected to consider adoption of the updated rules later this year.

New smelt fishing regulations now in effect

State fisheries managers are reminding people of new recreational and commercial smelt fishing regulations now in effect for Puget Sound.

The new rules, adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in June, provide greater protection for smelt, which serve as a food source for a variety of species in Puget Sound.

The commission, a citizen panel that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, adopted new regulations that:

• Close nighttime recreational dip net fishing. Recreational dip net fishing will be allowed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Tuesday. Jig gear can continue to be used seven days per week, 24 hours per day.

With a record number of ducks counted on the northern breeding grounds this year, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved migratory waterfowl hunting seasons for this fall and winter during a public meeting in Olympia.

Under the waterfowl hunting package, most hunting opportunities in Washington will be similar to last year. That includes a statewide duck season that will be open for 107 days, starting Oct. 11-15 and continuing Oct. 18-Jan. 25. A special youth hunting weekend also is scheduled Sept. 20-21.

Limits for mallard, pintail, scaup, redhead, goldeneye, harlequin, scoter and long-tailed duck will remain the same as last season. But the commission reduced the daily bag limit for canvasback to one per day because of decreasing numbers throughout North America.

Goose hunting seasons will vary among management areas across the state, but most open mid-October and run through late January. Limits for most geese did not change, except the commission did increase the daily bag limit for cackling geese in southwest Washington from three to four.

The commission also increased the overall harvest quota for dusky Canada geese in southwest Washington from 45 to 85 birds.

The goose and duck hunting seasons approved by the commission are based on state and federal waterfowl population estimates and guidelines. According to those estimates, a record number of ducks – approximately 49 million – were on the breeding grounds this spring in Canada and the United States.

Rules for posting comments

Comments posted below are from readers. In no way do they represent the view of Sound Publishing or this newspaper. This is a public forum.

Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content but the newspaper is under no obligation to do so. Comment posters are solely responsible under the Communications Decency Act for comments posted on this Web site. Sound Publishing is not liable for messages from third parties.

IP and email addresses of persons who post are not treated as confidential records and will be disclosed in response to valid legal process.

Do not post:

Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.

Obscene, explicit, or racist language.

Copyrighted materials of any sort without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Personal attacks, insults or threats.

The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.

Comments unrelated to the story.

If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please click the FLAG icon below the comment.